Brac Officials To Visit Oceana

August 01, 2005|By John M.R. Bull, jbull@dailypress.com | 247-4768

Four members of the base closing panel will tour the station today. Politicians opposing the closing will also be on hand.

Four members of the federal base-closing panel will tour the Navy's master jet base Oceana in Virginia Beach today to see first-hand to what degree civilian housing has encroached on the installation targeted for closure.

The fact-finding mission will give the panel members a chance to see just what the Navy does at the base and just how close development has creeped over the decades.

"Rather than perception, they need to see the reality,'' said George Foresman, an aide to Gov. Mark Warner, who opposes closing the base. "There are challenges, but they aren't challenges that are detrimental to the Navy's mission. There seems to be a fair amount of misinformation and misunderstanding out there.''

The Navy sought to close the base before the Pentagon decided that 33 other bases should be closed as part of a nationwide base realignment designed to save up to $7 billion.

Navy brass, however, concluded that there was no other single base that could handle all the jet fighters at Oceana and were loath to split up the squadrons.

The base-closing panel took it on themselves several weeks ago to add the base to the closing list, a move meant to give them more time to study the matter before making a final decision next month on which bases to keep on or take off the list.

Opponents of closing Oceana will also attend the tour, including many of the state's most powerful politicians.

The show of unity is to include Warner, Sens. John Warner and George Allen, and members of the state's congressional delegation as well as state lawmakers.

"We agree with the Navy that Oceana is a critical facility and it shouldn't be on the list,'' said Kevin Hall, spokesman for Gov. Warner.

A hearing by the full 11-member, base-closing panel on the fate of Oceana will be held Thursday in Washington, D.C. The panel, known as the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, will take testimony from state and local officials.

Also testifying will be the new chief of naval operations, Adm. Michael G. Mullen. Sen. Warner asked him to testify about the Navy's opposition to closing the base in the current round of base closings.

Oceana is the largest employer in Virginia Beach with a staff of roughly 17,000 military personnel and civilians. More than 250 fighter jets are based at the Navy's main jet training ground on the East Coast.

The base generates as much as $2 billion a year in benefits to the local economy, according to one report. Jet noise has been a chronic complaint over the years by some local residents. *